NFA World: Students can explore opportunities

On the heels of mid-year exams, NFA is preparing to help students plan the next year in their four year education here. During the first week of February, students will receive a newly designed course catalog, course selection sheet and planning worksheet. The catalog features color reproductions of student artwork and cover artwork by seniors Donovan Kelleher and Elizabeth McLean.

On the heels of mid-year exams, NFA is preparing to help students plan the next year in their four year education here. During the first week of February, students will receive a newly designed course catalog, course selection sheet and planning worksheet. The catalog features color reproductions of student artwork and cover artwork by seniors Donovan Kelleher and Elizabeth McLean.

Students need to balance their interests and aspirations with graduation credit requirements, college admission requirements, and future and career plans and goals. In many courses, students can earn high school and college credit or specialized certification.

Next year, the course catalog has about 20 new courses, including Introduction to Music Technology, Arabic 4, Traditional Photography 2, Veterinary Assistant Certification and Senior AP Language and Composition.

To help students to make informed decisions, NFA has replaced the former evening curriculum fair with a new format, Exploring Opportunities, during the school day. Teachers will spend time sharing recommendations for the next sequential courses in their departments, and students can visit the classrooms of teachers who teach elective classes to ask questions and gain more information about those courses.

Students will submit their course requests online and turn in their course selection sheets to their homeroom teachers. Opportunities will exist during the school day for students to do so; but students may submit electronically from home. Directions will be on the NFA website.

This afternoon NFA is the local host for the national College Goal Sunday program in Land Library. Parents and guardians of seniors are invited to drop by between 1:30 and 4:30 p.m. for help with financial planning for college and with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, the federal application required to receive federal financial aid, including the Federal Pell Grant, student loans and need-based state grants. More information at collegegoalsundayusa.org.

A program about the human dynamics that lead to bullying and school violence titled Rachel’s Challenge will be presented free and to the public at 6:30 p.m., Monday in Slater Auditorium. It is recommended for grades 6 and older.

Students put their skill and knowledge to work using rectangles, squares, isosceles and right triangles, and parallel lines to fashion decorative three dimensional snow-flakes, as part of a larger project coordinated by Project Outreach. Students in mathematics teacher Margaret Weaver and in art teachers Jennifer Carlstrom and Alyssa Carmody’s classes crafted the flakes to donate to Sandy Hook Elementary School and the community of Newtown as they moved to a new school at Chalk Hill. The snowflakes, gestures of personal, emotional support and outreach, were used to transform the new building into a winter wonderland to welcome students back to school after the December tragedy. NFA’s contributions were received just before Newtown closed the project to further donations.

The class of 2014 is conducting a “Message in a Bottle” fundraiser. For $5, family members or friends may send any member of the NFA community a holiday greeting to be delivered in an NFA water bottle. Write a personal message or choose a generic Happy Valentine’s Day as the message in the bottle. To participate, send payment, message and the recipient’s name and grade to Director of Curriculum and Instruction and class adviser Denise Grant, or call 425-5508. The deadline is Feb. 12; orders are being accepted immediately.

Page 2 of 2 - The NFA class of 2013 is sponsoring the sixth annual “Love Bites” event. Send a sweet treat for Valentine’s Day. Two chocolate chip cookies, along with your personal message, will be delivered to your Valentine the morning of, Feb. 14. Each “Love Bite” is $1. Contact mathematics teacher Melissa Cassidy at cassidym@nfaschool.org to purchase one. Include the recipient’s first and last name, a message and arrangements for payment. All requests must be received by Feb. 7.